If you're a food lover, be sure to do a car tour of the Buzet region of northern Istria, which lies not far from the Slovenian border.  The area's rolling, verdant landscapes are simply magnificent, and it is considered one of Croatia's main gastronomic regions. 

The forests of Buzet, Croatia's truffle capital

A magnificent series of vegetation-covered islands, the archipelago lying off the west coast of Istria and formed by two large islands, Veliki Brijun and Mail Brijun, and twelve islets was chosen by Marshall Tito as the location of his summer residence and as a place where he could receive and host his visitors, especially the heads of the non-aligned states.

On the Brijuni Islands, in the company of Tito!

Plitvice and the smaller Krka are parks you must visit in Croatia.
 You really should put them on your holiday to-do list.
 Hikers will love the mountain parks as well as the stunning, protected islands.

The most beautiful parks in central Croatia


Beautiful Dubrovnik has kept its battle scars in ex-Yugoslavia. You will learn about the history on a tour of the old town, in the museums and in the beautiful photo gallery.

The battle scars of Dubrovnik

Pula

Rovinj

Poreč

Motovun

The largest lake on the Balkan Peninsula, Lake Scutari (or Lake Skadar, Lake Shkodër or Lake Shkodra) and it surrounding area make up a magnificent nature reserve and national park, especially on the Montenegrin side.

Europe

Croatia

Skadar

Central America

Africa

North America

South America

Asia

Middle East

Oceania

The dolphin-shaped Lake Skadar marks the border between Montenegro and Albania. Simply put, this is the largest lake on the Balkan Peninsula, and it is drastically different on one side of the border than it is on the other. During my own trip, I was lucky enough to be able to visit this lake in both the national park on the Montenegrin side and in the area just outside the Albanian city of Shkodër, and it was difficult to believe I was looking at the same area of water in both instances. On the Montenegrin side, Lake Skadar is a managed wildlife reserve set in an incredibly well-preserved natural environment consisting of marshes, forests and meandering streams and rivers and which provides a home to more than 250 different species of birds. On the Albanian side, by contrast, there is no national park, and the shores of the lake have been absolutely ruined by the presence of all kinds of litter and rubbish, which lies floating on the surface of the water. This gets you thinking about the role wildlife and nature reserves play and the importance of preserving and managing natural areas in this way.

Skadar Holidays

Skadar: What to see nearby?

Croatia: our articles for your holidays